


Align

by sonnet009



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-16
Updated: 2013-09-16
Packaged: 2017-12-26 19:48:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/969603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonnet009/pseuds/sonnet009
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, it might be different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Align

There’s still a lot between them — a mutual wound that’s as raw as the day it was made — and it would be difficult to talk about even if they weren’t who they are. But Haruka is still so firmly rooted inside his own head, and Rin is still wearing that barbed wire armor, and doesn’t that make resolution impossible?

Haruka isn’t sure, but it seems like that must be right. Normal people talk — they cry and argue and lash out, and then sometimes they laugh and forgive and move forward. But he’s not normal, and he doesn’t know how to be, or even pretend.

When Rin lashes out, Haruka tends to just catch every hurled insult or challenge, collecting them like keepsakes. And that always just makes Rin more angry, or sometimes it makes him give up. That’s worse — when Rin just stops mid-sentence and turns and walks away. Because Haruka won’t follow him, and they both know it, and it’s hard to guess who must feel the most disappointed in himself. That’s the thing about barbed wire: the barbs cut both ways.

But they always gravitate back towards each other eventually, like the moon calling the ocean — though Haruka isn’t sure which one of them would be the moon in that metaphor. And it’s undeniable that they always fit back together perfectly — like puzzle pieces cut to only match each other.

And sometimes it even makes Haruka feel hopeful — that no matter how life shapes them, their edges will still align perfectly. That  _has_  to mean something. Doesn’t it?

And sometimes Rin will pin him down and start rubbing himself all over Haruka’s body, getting them both hard before going down on him with single-minded determination. This is what he does when he’s not lashing out or walking away: He sets to pulling what he can out of Haruka — every grunt and quickly-swallowed whimper must feel like a victory, and when Rin feels like he’s winning, he starts smiling.

He smiles as he drives Haruka to the edge and then pulls back, as he hovers just before slowly lowering himself on Haruka’s aching cock, as Haruka loses his control and flips them over so he can start pounding into him just  _right_.

And it’s not Rin’s new smile — no, it’s the old one. The one that said  _Let’s join the relay together!_  and  _Thanks for swimming with me!_  and  _I’ll show you a sight you’ve never seen before!_  without a trace of bitterness or pain.

He’s not a passive bottom — he writhes and says the  _dirtiest_  things and nicks his way across every inch of Haruka’s body with his sharp teeth. And it’s a new side to Rin, obviously, but in a way it’s disarmingly nostalgic. Because this is what Rin used to be — that bratty, boisterous kid who was so good at touching Haruka’s buttons. His friend. The boy he’d never wanted to say goodbye to.

When they’re both at their limit and Haruka is pushing Rin’s legs up, trying to hit that perfect, deep angle as they climax together, it’s always bittersweet, because it’s just another goodbye.

Post-orgasm, Haruka is a mess — all hazy and twitching with oversensitive nerves. Rin recovers faster, and doesn’t stay close for long. Soon, his warmth is gone, and the smile is gone, and the old Rin is nothing more than a memory once again. The next time they meet at the pool, there will be no trace of what happened here.

But just like the moon and the ocean, they will find their way back to each other, again and again. And they will fight, and hurt, and fuck, and never talk about any of it. And Haruka will keeping swimming, for Rin, for himself, and one day — when they both finally work out what it is that they want — maybe they can move forward. Together. Doesn’t that reasoning make sense?

Haruka isn’t sure, but he has hope.


End file.
